Officials say the owner of a 7-Eleven in New Jersey looking to make a few bucks on the coronavirus outbreak sold a homemade sanitizing spray that burned four children. In the after, 47-year-old Manisha Bharade was issued a summons on charges of endangering the welfare of children and deceptive business practices for mixing foaming sanitizer not intended for resale with water and packaging the mixture in bottles sold in her River Vale store.
An apparent chemical reaction from Bharade’s concoction left four young boys — three 10-year-olds and an 11-year-old — burned on Monday, according to Grewal and Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella. Police responded to the 7-Eleven after photos of the bogus products were posted to social media along with a boy who had burns to his arm and leg, River Vale police said.
“Let me be perfectly clear: If you try to take advantage of our residents during a public health emergency, we will hold you accountable,” New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said. “Retailers who try to make a quick buck by exploiting others will face civil and criminal consequences.” In this case, at least, cops say they don’t believe Bharade had any ill intent.
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